As you’ve probably noticed, I’ve been absent from blogging for some time now… My time is very short and there have been other concerns that keep me busy and focused elsewhere. In spite of this, those who know me well know that I always find a way of sewing something, if nothing else some simple/quick projects to fulfill my addiction. Here’s a roundup of the projects completed during my absence:

2011#14 – Ivory wide pants with contrasting black elastic waist
Pattern used: BurdaStyle June 2011, model 114B
The original model has an elastic casing waistband but I opted for ready-on waistband elastic instead. It’s very easy to apply; first ease stitch the waist edge of the pants with a loose running stitch, until it matches the elastic waistband (cut with enough length to be tight yet comfortable around the waist, plus seam allowances). Then pin the elastic band to the waist edge of the pants and zigzag stitch along the edge (just above the elastic frill). It’s easy and effective and the pants turned out really nice and comfortable.2011#15 – Grey wide pants with contrasting elastic waist
Ups, there’s a cat sitting there… Sorry.
These are the same as the previous pants, just used other fabric. See me wearing them here.

Pattern used: Patrones#298, model 7:
Alterations: I used a couple of hook&eyes instead of the back zipper on the center back. The cutting layout has you cutting both front and backs on the bias; I don’t think this is a good idea when there's a center back seam (it will inevitably stretch), so I cut the back pieces on grain instead. More details of the top will follow:2011#17 – Silver gray top

Again the same pattern, but this time I added two tying bands on the back, instead of the hook&eyes closure:2011#18 – Faux suede boxy dress
ETA: You can see me wearing the dress here.

Pattern used: BurdaStyle April 2011, model 118
This dress features sleeves with an interesting gusset detail and for the inexperienced the sewing instructions alone may seem confusing. The Portuguese BurdaStyle anticipated this problem and included a few schematic drawings illustrating the process. I have no idea if the other language BurdaStyles included the same illustrated instructions or not.
The fabric mimics faux suede very well, yet it’s not easy to press (it’s not crisp, and the stitching tends to get puckered). I got the fabric with the help of a good friend. It resembles the thin suede quite well, so I'm happy with the end result.2011#19 – Pleated leather mini-skirt
If you care to see pictures of me wearing this skirt, click here.

I made this mini-skirt inspired by some RTW models that I’ve been seeing around. I tried on some of these RTW leather pleated skirts and they were either too short for me, too full or a little of both, so I decided to make my own. I cut a long rectangle of pleather (I think I started with nearly twice my hip measure) as wide as the intended skirt length plus hem allowance. Then I chalk traced the pleats (they are a little more than an inch apart) on the wrong side and start stitching along the folds, alternating the stitching on the right side and the wrong side, forming the pleats. When I reached my hip measure (the pleated pleather, I mean), I made a few more pleats, trying on the rectangle around my hips until I got the intended fullness. Then I stitched a narrow hem and ease stitched the opposing edge (the waistline) to meet the length of the elastic. In the end I stitched the back seam on both pleather and elastic in a single step. The only concern is making sure the back seam coincides with an inward pleat, thus making this seam completely unnoticeable to the eye. And ta-dah! We have a pleated leather skirt! It’s easy to do, yet very time consuming. Here are a couple more detail shots:
I hope you liked this set of easy/quick projects… It’s always hard to find the time to make everything I envision, and even more to update my blogs regularly but I do my best to keep you guys posted whenever I can. Happy sewing everybody!